From: porkchop@invalid.foo   
      
   On Thu, 6 Nov 2025 06:24:35 +0000, Richard Heathfield wrote:   
      
   > Don't try and teach in an if(argc <   
   >   
   > People who type the program name alone need one of two things:   
   >   
   > a) a brief description of the program's purpose;   
   >   
   > OR   
   >   
   > b) a brief reminder of usage.   
      
   That's it right there.   
      
   > Here's an example from my own corpus:   
   >   
   > $ transpose   
   > transpose infile amount [outfile]   
   > transposes a Lilypond metafile ($TRANSPOSE$ tag present)   
   > from one key to another.   
   > infile:  the file to transpose   
   > amount:  number of semitones to transpose (-ve = down, +ve = up)   
   > outfile: if specified, output is written here.   
   >           Otherwise, the input file is modified.   
   >   
   > That's enough to   
   > a) tell you whether it's the program you wanted, or   
   > b) remind you of how you use it   
   >   
   > It doesn't try to teach you music theory. If your program needs a   
   > manual, your descriptive passage should point at it - eg See   
   > README for more details.   
      
   Yes, understood.   
      
   > FILE(S) is less ambiguous. If your user doesn't know what files   
   > are and you try to teach him, you're in for a world of hurt.   
      
   Solid reply Richard, many thanks for the insights.   
      
   Glad I asked now. Between you & Janis I've got (knock on wood)   
   most of what I need now.   
      
   --   
   :wq   
   Mike Sanders   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)